Shoe sewing machine



June, 1942. T A KESTELL 2,286,139

sHoE SEWING MACHINE Filed Feb. 21, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1y June 9, 1942. T. A, KESTELL I 2,286-,139

o 2o 4o 6o 801041120140160 1an m0220240 aaoasoaao 320340 3Go A AWL z/ v B 151 c Rln/RN FEED C A" PREssER Foor |N AND our D JP PREaseR m01- RlSE/NDFALL E missen mor LOCK Wnes Zzvew/o M' 'W f7 MX/M Patented June 9, 1942 SHOE SEWING MACHINE Thomas Aubrey Kestell, Leicester, England, as-

signor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 21, 1941, Serial No. 380,020 In Great Britain March 6, 1940 15 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in sewing machines. More particularly, the invention relates to a presser foot and its actuating mechanism for a machine of the type adapted for sewing a sole to a shoe bottom by a seam passing through the sole to the inside of the shoe. By way of illustrative example, the present invention is hereinafter described as embodied in a shoe sole sewing machine of the particular construction described in an application for U. S. Letters Patent to Gouldbourn and the present inventor Serial No.y 274,794, filed May 20, 1939, which machine is a lockstitch sewing rmachine of the McKay type having a rotary shoe supporting horn for a work support.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel presser foot mechanism for a shoe sole sewing machine having a rotary shoe supporting horn which is intended to control and hold the work in a more satisfactory manner on the horn than hitherto.

A shoe sole sewing machine of the type referred to usually is provided with a rotary shoe supporting horn which has in its upper end a needle threading whirl and with a hooked needle1 which passes through the work and enters an opening in the upper end of the horn to enable the needle thread to be wrapped around the needle by the whirl and also with a work feeding awl or feed point which penetrates and feeds the perforation thus formed in the work into line with the needle. Such machines also usually are provided with a presser foot arranged to hold the work on the horn except when the work is being fed to the needle and the presser footv usually is arranged at the side of the awl or feed point most remote from the needle, i. e., on the side of the awl or feed point from which the work is fed to the needle. As hereinafter referred to, the term awl will be assumed to indcate any work engaging device for similar purposes including a feed point.

In the illustrative mechanism hereinafter described as embodying the present invention, the presser foot is arranged to engage the work between the paths of movement of the awl and needle towards the work instead of at the same side of the needle and awl and the presser foot preferably is arranged to be moved out of the way of the awl as the latter feeds the work to the needle. With this arrangement, in the case of a McKay type machine, the presser foot is positioned directly above the Work supporting face of the rotary horn close to the path of movement of the needle and also close to the path of movement of the awl, both the needle and awl operating fromr the same side of the work.

This position of the'presser foot ensures that the work is held down firmly on the horn close to the sewing point and prevents undesired upward movement of the work away from the horn which might be caused by upward movement of the awl or the needle as either is being withdrawn from the work as sometimes occurs if. the presser foot engages the work at the opposite side of the awl a substantial distance from the needle. Further a presser foot so arranged is in a very convenient position to guide the Work towards the needle and to control the thread measuring mechanism of the machine.

The above and other objects and the several features of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the follow- "ing specification, claims and drawings of the said illustrative presser foot mechanism and of its application to the particular lockstitch shoe sole sewing machine aforesaid.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a right-hand side elevation of part of a shoe sole sewing machine having embodied therein the illustrative presser foot mechanism; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of some of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of a presser foot of the illustrative mechanism and a needle, awl and part of a work supporting horn of the machine; Fig. 4 shows some of the parts shown in Fig. 1 during work feed by the awl; Figs. 5, 6 and '7 illustrate in front elevation, plan and side elevation, respectively, an alternative presser foot, indicating its relation to the horn in the latter ligure; and Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relative timing, in a machine cycle, of the awl, presser foot and presser foot lock.

The machine of the drawings is a shoe sewing machine of the McKay type for sewing shoe soles to uppers and insoles by through and through stitches and is provided with presser foot mechanism and a work support. In the presser foot mechanism of the illustrated machine, the upper end of a presser foot l is secured on the lower end of a presser bar 3, similar to the presser bar referred to as presser foot bar 249 in the Gouldbourn application referred to. VThe bar is supported by the forward ends of a pair of parallel arms 5 and 1, similar to the arms 25|, 253 in said application. The presser foot acts to secure the work by clamping it against the work support in the form of a rotary shoe supporting horn 8. The present presser foot l is secured to the presser bar-by a screw 9 and slot connection which allows the presser foot to be adjusted horizontally laterally of the machine.

The presser foot I, according to a feature of the present invention, extends downwardly and to the left from its upper end (viewing the machine from the front), in front of the path of downward movement of a four-motionwork feeding awl II and at itslower work engaging' end the presser foot has a rearwardly extending portion I3. The awl, during its feeding movement, moves into a position of alignment with the path of the needle, indicated at I5, as in the machineof the application. The rearwardlyA extending portion I3, when viewed from'aboveaislpositiened. between the path of downward movement of thev awl II while forming a perforation in the work and the path of downward movementof` the needle I 5 while entering into the perforation formed by the awl, the Work engaging paths of the nee;- dle and awl being separated by a stitch length (see Fig. 2). The'rearwardly extending portion I3 is about one-sixteenth of an' inch thick, when viewed from above,.and is aboutA one-quarter of 'an inch high, its lowerY edge extending upwardly and forwardly. The lowest Work engaging, portion of the rearwardly' extending portion I3 engages the work along the feed line which marks the path of awl movement during'work feed and which passes through the' stitch holes of' the seam. The lower work engaging face 'of'Y the presser foot has wings I'4 and 29 at the' sides of the portion I'3`. These wings `are beveled 'slightly upwardly from; the portion |31, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the work may be tippedY slightly .laterally of the machine and the presser foot in front of the portion I3` is beveled slightly upwardly and forwardly to permit the work to be tipped downwardly and rearwardly. The work engaging face of the portion I3 and the beveled wing faces are so. arranged that more. pressure is exerted on the work by' the face on the portion I3 thanz by the beveledwing faces. The rear face IT of the rearwardly extending portion exltends upwardly andy slightly rearwardly and is engaged by the inside face. of a vchannel lip I9 on a shoe sole 2| which may conveniently be sewn to an upper 23l and insole 25.

By arranging the rearwardly extending portion I3 of the presser foot Il between the paths of downward movement of the awl II and needle I5, the presser foot engages the work directly above the work supporting face of the work supporting horn 8` andclose to the point Where the awl II leaves the Work and the needle I5 entersv and leaves the work. The. parts of the work which are being sewn together are therefore well pressed together at this point, thus assisting in the formation of' tight stitching. This position of the rearwardly projecting portion I3 of the presser foot close to the awll and needle prevents the work from being lifted as the awl or needle are being raised and any tendency for the work to be bent upwardly slightly, as might occur if the presser foot which is holding. the work down at this time is spaced asin previous machines of this type for instance, a half inch, away from the needle. Under these circumstances, the hole in the work would be enlarged slightly by the awl or needle, producing undesirable eifects in the' formation of the seam.

In the machine described in the Gouldbourn application, thread measuring means is provided for measuring off from a thread supply a length of thread for each stitch and the thread measuring means is controlled by the heightwiseV position of the presser foot so that the length of thread measured off for each stitch is determined by the thickness of the work where it is engaged by the presser foot. 'Ihe positioning of the rearwardly extending portion I3 of the presser foot close to the needle causes the thickness of the work tobe measured close to the point where each stitch is' being formed, helping to ensure a correct amount of thread to be measured oi for each stitch.

The arrangement of the rearwardly extending portion I3'v of the presser foot engaging the Work along the line of. feed enables the work to be tippedl readily by the operator laterally and forwardly or rearwardly about the lower face of the presser foot without producing any undue tendency' to' raise the presser foot.

The presser foot wing 29 extending from the left lies at the front of and close to the needle path, and assists in holding the work firmly down on the horn 8. Y

To enableY the workl to be fed without. obstructingthe'work'feedng pathv ofthe awlv during its movement along' the seam line' towards a position of alignment with the needle, the presser foot in the present'machineis moved' in a direction transverse to the seam' line out of thev awl feeding path in; each` sewing cycle. In the illustrative presser' foot mechanism, the. presser isv raised andf moved forwardly while the awl is feeding the work. After theA awl` has fed the Work and before it is withdrawn' therefrom, the presser foot is moved rearwardly and downwardly into engagement with the work to hold the work on thehorn until just before the awl againw commencesto fee-d then work. Before the back-feeding movement' of the awl starts, it is raised from the work' sufficiently' to clear portion I-S of the presser foot;

The presser bar 3 of the presser foot lifting mechanism is pivoted by'a pin 3|" to the. arm 'I which is securedon a shaft 33rotatably mounted ina head frame 35 of the machine and' has also secured on it an arm 3.1. The arm 31 has pivotal-ly connected to it a rod 3`9fwhi'ch is pivotally connected at 4I to' a pair of parallel short links 4'3, corresponding to the links referred to as the short links 2,65V in the Gouldbourn application; The short links 43'are' pivotally connected' at 45-to a rod 41 which is pivotally connected to` an arm I9: corresponding to the arm referred to as the upwardly extending arm 215 in the application. The arm 49. is. secured' to a shaft 5I, rotatably mounted in the head 35, which-.has secured to it' an arm 53;. The arm 53 carries a cam roll 55 which' engages. in a cam groove in a ca m secured4 on a shaft 51, rotatably mounted in the head 35, corresponding to. the shaft referred to as the horizontal" crank shaft 29 in the application. The upper ends of the short links 43 are connected" to locking. mechanism similar to and operated by mechanism similar to that described in said application for locking the presserI foot against. upward movement.

The cam groove which is engaged by. the roll 55 causes the presser foot to be raised to allow the Work to be fed by the awl II. The arm 5 is pivotally mounted" on an eccentric portion 59 of a shaft Iill which is rotatably mounted in a bracket 63V secured to the head. frame 35. The shaft 6I has secured onv it, by a clamp screw 65, an arm 61 to which isY pivotally connected by a stud 69 one endA of a link 'II'. The other end.v of the link 1I is pivotally connected by a stud 'I3 to anarm 'I5 of a bell crank' l'ever TI which is pivotally mounted on a spindle 19 in the head 35. Another arm 8l of the bell crank lever 11 carries a cam roll 83 which engages a cam groove in a cam secured on the shaft 51.

When the bell crank lever 11 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. l, the eccentric portion 59 of the shaft 6I is moved forwardly and, through the arm 5, moves the presser foot forwardly parallel to the surface of the work about the axis of the pin 3l in the arm 1. This forward movement of the presser foot parallel to the surface of the work occurs during its upward lifting movement and when the presser foot is raised to allow the work to be fed by the awl, its projection I3 is moved so far forwardly that the awl can pass behind the projection.

To adjust the forward movement of the presser foot, the stud 13 is secured in an arcuate slot 85 in the arm 15, movementv of the stud along the slot causing variation in the extent of forward movement. The arcuate slot is substantially concentric to the axis of the stud 69 when the presser foot is resting on work of medium thickness so that adjustment of the stud 13 along the slot 85 does not materially affect the position forwardly or rearwardly of the presser foot when it is in engagement with the work.

In the machine described in the Gouldbourn et al. application referred to, the presser foot is at the right-hand side of the awl, from which side the work is fed, and holds up and prevents the channel lip of a sole which is being sewn to a shoe bottom from being pierced by the awl. In the illustrative mechanism, however, the presser foot is at the left-hand side of the awl and the channel lip approaches the awl before it reaches the presser foot so that the channel lip is unsupported by the presser foot before it reaches the awl and may, if it is thin and iiimsy, turn down into the path of the awl with the result that a few stitches may be formed, before the machine can be stopped, which stitches may pass through the channel lip, spoiling the work. Further, if a sole which is to be sewn to an upper and insole by the machine has had formed on it a flap, which later will be secured to the breast face of a heel on the shoe, and the flap and channel overlap, the overlapping portion of the flap which is usually thin might be pierced by the awl and sewn to the sole. To prevent the channel lip or flap from being pierced by the awl when the machine is operating on work having a thin flimsy channel lip or flap as aforesaid, the presser foot l has secured on it a rearwardly extending member 81 which is arranged to raise the channel lip or flap at the right of the awl path and hold the channel lip or flap up out of the way of the awl. With such a member, the awl during its work penetrating stroke passes down between the presser foot and the member.

The relative timing, in a machine cycle, of the movements of the awl towards and from the work, of the presser foot, presser lock and of the work feeding movement of the awl will now be described.

Assuming the machine to be in operation to sew a seam and the parts to have reached once more the positions which they occupiedV when the machine came to rest, the awl (see line A, Fig. 8) after having entered and fed the work in the previous cycle, will have fully risen away from the work and will have moved part way down again towards the work. The presser foot will be resting on the work and will be in its rearwardposition and will be locked against upward movement. The awl continues to descend and in doing LAso enters the work without quite penetrating itland reaches its lowest position when the shaft" 51 has rotated .through about 45. The awl remains more or less in its lowered position while the shaft 51 rotates through about a further and then commences to rise, reaching its fully raised position when the shaft 51 has rotated through about 220 from its starting position. The awl remains in its fully raised position, except for a slight dipping movement, until the shaftg51 has rotated through about 335 from its starting position when it begins to move down again.

The awl (see line B in Fig. 8) commences to feed the work when the shaft 51 has rotated through about 65 from its starting position and feeds the work while the shaft 51 rotates through about a further 70. The awl then dwells while the shaft 51 is rotating through about 35, during which the awl is moving upwardly out of the work and the awl then commences to move in the opposite direction to that in which it feeds the work and continues to so move while the shaft 51 rotates through about 45, the awl then remaining stationary, as far as its feeding and return movements are concerned, until the end of the cycle.

The presser foot (see line C in Fig. 8) is in its rearward position at the beginning of the machine cycle and commences to be moved forwardly when the shaft 51v has rotated through about 60 from its starting position. The presser foot is moved forwardly during about 30 of rotation of the shaft 51 and remains in its fully forward position during about 15 of rotation of the shaft 51. The presser foot is then moved rearwardly and reaches its rearward position when the shaft 51 has rotated through about a further 30 and remains in its rearward position until the end of the cycle.

The presser foot (see line D in Fig. 8) is down and in its rearward position on the work at the beginning of the machine cycle. The presser foot may, as described in said Gouldboun et al. application, be raised slightly during about the first 40 of rotation of the shaft 51. When the shaft 51 has rotated through about 40, the presser foot commences to be raised and is fully raised when the shaft 51 has rotated through a further 40. The presser foot remains in its fully raised position while the shaft 51 rotates through about 40 and is then moved down towards the work by its cam and unlocked so that it is moved by springmeans against the work, the presser foot remaining on the work until the end of the cycle.

It will be apparent that the presser foot is raised somewhat, during about 20 of rotation of the shaft 51, before it begins to be swung forwardly and this allows the presser foot to be lifted clear of the work before it is moved forwardly. Further, it will be apparent that the presser foot is moved rearwardly, during about 15 degrees of rotation of the shaft 51, before it is moved downwardly and this ensures that there will -be no rearward movement of the Vpresser foot after it engages the work. During about 30 of rotation of the shaft 51, the presser foot is moved upwardly and forwardly after it has been raised from the work and the presser foot is moved during this movement in a curved path extending upwardly and forwardly until it lies forward of the path of feeding movement of the awl which commences before the presser foot reaches its most forward and fully. raised position but is reached before the awlV passes behind the rearwardly extending portion I3 of the presser foot. Duringi its inward and downward movement, the presser first moves inward without moving downward during about 15 of rotation of the shaft 51, then moves both inward and downward during about 15 of rotation of the shaft 51 and then moves downward without being moved inward during about a further 15 of rotation of the shaft 51. ,Y

The return back feeding movement of the awl after it has fed the work takes place after the presser foot has been moved downwardly and rearwardly into engagement with the work, but since the awl is raised above the work during its return movement, it passes above the rearwardly projecting portion I3 of the presser foot.

vThe presser foot (see line E in Fig. 8) is locked against upward movement at the commencement of the machine cycle 'and' remains so locked while the shaft 51 rotates through about,125. The presser foot is unlockedV during part ofnits downward movement, so that it may be moved down by its spring and accommodate itself to the thickness of the work during about 30 of rotation of the shaft 51 and is then locked again until the end of the cycle.

'I'he presser foot 89` shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '1 is of a somewhat simpler construction in that it does not have a portion similar to the wing 29 on the presser foot l and may conveniently be used instead of the presser foot l when work is being operated upon which requires to be tipped considerably during the sewing, the absence of the wing 29 allowing such tipping to be more readily effected. 'Ihe presser foot 89 may, of course, have secured to it a member similar to the member 81.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and an embodiment of the several features of the invention having been speciiically described, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, and a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl to clamp the work against the work support.

2. A shoe sewing machine having, in combi- L' nation, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, and a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending `between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl to clamp the work against the work support, said presser foot being arranged for movement out of the path of the awl during work feed.

3. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a psition of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a Work engaging end formed with a portion eX- tending between the work engaging paths of theneedle and awl to clam-p the work against the work support, and mechanism for moving the presser foot out of the path of the awl while the work is being fed.

4. A shoe sewing machine hav-ing, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl to clamp the work against the work support, and mechanism for moving the presser foot out of the path of the awl while the work is being fed and into engagement with the work before the awl is disengaged from the work.

5. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separatedy paths towards engagement with the work, said Iawl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot, mechanism for lifting the presser foot from thework, and mechanism separate from the lifting mechanism for moving the presser foot parallel to the surface of the work during each stitch forming cycle.

6. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot, mechanis-m for lifting the presser foot from the work, mechanism for moving the presser foot parallel to the surface of the work transversely of the seam line while being lifted and for returning the presser foot to its starting position when brought into engagement with the work, and means separate from the lifting mechanism for adjusting the extent 'of movement parallel to the surface of the work.

7. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the worky towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl, and a wing extending along the seam line in front of the needle path to clamp the work against the worksupport.

8. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while ,engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl, and wings extending along the seam line in front of the needle and awl work engaging paths to clamp the work against the work support.

9. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl to clamp the work against the work support, and a channel liap raising member on the presser foot at the side of the awl work engaging path along the line of feed opposite said extending portion of the presser foot.

10. A McKay type shoe sewing machine for inserting a seam in a channelled Work piece beneath a seam covering flap having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separate paths at one side of the work towards and from engagement with the work, a rotary shoe supporting horn on the other side of the Work, and a presser foot movable towards the work and parallel to the surface of the work transversely of the seam line to raise the channel flap before each work penetrating stroke of the awl.

11. A McKay type shoe sewing machine for inserting a seam in a channelled work piece beneath a seam covering ap having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separate paths at one side of the Work towards and from engagement with the work along separate paths, a rotary shoe supporting horn on the other side of the work, and a presser foot movable towards the work and parallel to the surface of the work transversely of the seam line to raise the channel ap before each work penetrating stroke of the awl, said presser foot having a work engaging portion acting between the needle and the awl work engaging paths to clamp the work against the horn, and a channel ap raising member on the presser foot at the side of the awl work engaging path along the line of feed opposite said portion of the presser foot.

12. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle, a work support, a presser foot, a presser foot bar on which the presser foot is mounted, a pair of parallel arms on which the presser foot bar is supported for movement towards and from the work support to clamp and release the work, and means for actuating one of the arms at right angles to the line of movement of the presser foot towards and from the work to cause the presser foot to be moved parallel to the surface of the work.

13. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle, a work support, a presser foot, a presser foot bar on which the presser foot is mounted, a pair of parallelgarms on which the presser foot bar is supported for movement towards and from the work support to clamp and release the Work, separate shafts on which the arms are mounted, an eccentric portion on one of the shafts, and mechanism for actuating the eccentric shaft portion to move the presser foot parallel to the surface of the work.

14. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and an awl movable along separated paths towards engagement with the work, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path to feed the work, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl, a wing extending along the seam line in front of the needle path to clamp the work against the work support, and mechanism for moving the presser foot transversely of the seam line out of the path of the awl while the-work is being fed.

15. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle and a four-motion work feeding awl, said awl being movable while engaging the work towards a position of alignment with the needle path, a work support, a presser foot having a work engaging end formed. with a portion extending between the work engaging paths of the needle and awl to clamp the work against the work support, and mechanism for moving the presser foot out of the path of the awl while the work is being fed and into engagement with the work before the awl is disengaged, the awl passing above said extending portion of the presser foot during back feeding movement of the awl.

THOMAS AUBREY KESTELL. 

